Foreign currency Local currencies the German way: the chiemgauer https://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/sep/23/local-currencies-german-chiemgauer The chiemgauer, a school currency project in southern Germany, is the envy of other currency schemes as shoppers opt for local cash to spend in local shops Jon Palmer and Patrick Collinson Fri 23 Sep 2011 23.02 BST ——————————- it started as a school project by Christian Gelleri, an economics teacher in southern Germany who wanted to teach a group of 16-year-olds about finance in a novel way – by creating their own money, to be used in local shops and businesses. They called it the "chiemgauer" and eight years on, the project has turned into the world's most successful alternative currency. But this isn't a story about Germany's waning enthusiasm for the euro. It's about a growing number of chiemgauer users who see the currency as a great way of keeping money within the businesses and communities where it is generated and earned, rather than pouring it into the coffers of chain stores and globalised banks. Gelleri put his students in charge of designing the currency vouchers, as well as managing its accounts and administering the scheme. The currency was pegged to the euro on a one-to-one basis, with notes in denominations of one to 50. In its first year, the notes struggled to gain acceptance in what is one of the most prosperous and conservative parts of Germany, achieving a turnover of just €75,000 (£65,500). Only 130 individuals signed up, with just a few local stores willing to take the new currency. But last year turnover reached €5.1m, and the chiemgauer, named after a region in Bavaria, is now accepted by more than 600 businesses in the Rosenheim-Traunstein area where it operates. It is estimated that around 2,500 people regularly use the currency and along the way it has also earned more than €100,000 for local non-profit organisations. In Britain, there have been various attempts to introduce local currencies to stimulate the local economy, such as Lewes, Totnes and Brixton pounds, but to date none has taken off. Gill Seyfang, a specialist in "new economics" at the University of East Anglia, says: "The chiemgauer has been massively successful, it's off the scale in comparison with others. We are actually quite used to alternative forms of money – after all, that's what Airmiles or loyalty points from supermarkets are. But why haven't the Lewes pound or the Lets [local exchange trading schemes] been more successful? There are all sorts of reasons, but principally it seems that people love the idea of it, but in practice it doesn't seem to function very well. The currency doesn't achieve critical mass and shops don't want to take it because their suppliers won't accept it, and so on. It doesn't deliver enough material benefits for it to be wanted for its own sake. But you also have to look at these schemes in other ways. Often it's about local engagement and rewarding neighbourliness." The chiemgauer has managed to bring on board local co-operative banks and credit organisations, and it's even possible to pay in chiemgauer using a debit card, run by Regios, an association of co-operative banks. What makes the chiemgauer different to conventional currency is that it automatically loses value if you don't spend it. Unlike traditional money that can be saved, the chiemgauer is only valid for three months – the idea being that it must be spent, thereby boosting the local economy. If the notes aren't spent, they can be renewed by buying a stamp that costs 2% of the note's face value – so over a year, the currency depreciates 8%. Notes can be renewed up to seven times.